''Ilona'' is a Hungarian female given name, the traditional name of the Queen of the Fairies in Magyar folklore. Its etymology is uncertain. A common theory is that Ilona is cognate with the

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

given name ''

Helen Helen may refer to: People * Helen of Troy, in Greek mythology, the most beautiful woman in the world * Helen (actress) (born 1938), Indian actress * Helen (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) Places * Helen, ...

''. Diminutive forms include ''Ilonka'' and ''Ilike''. Ilona is a common name in Finland,There are 25,000 women named Ilona in the Finnish Population Register
Name service
/ref> where it is considered to refer to the

Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...

word ''ilo'' ("joy") and ''ilona'' literally means "as a joy

o someone O, or o, is the fifteenth letter and the fourth vowel letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''o'' (pronounced ), plu ...

. It is also common in Latvia, Estonia, France, Lithuania and Poland ( formerly in crown union with Hungary).

People

Archduchess Ilona of Austria hu, Ilona , title = Duchess of Mecklenburg , image =File:Coat of arms of the House of Habsburg‑Lorraine (shield).svg , image_size=150px, caption =Coat of Arms of Archduchess Ilona of Austria , spouse = , issue ...

(1927-2011) *

Ilona Andrews Ilona Andrews is the pen name of Ilona Gordon and Andrew Gordon, an American husband-and-wife duo who write urban fantasy and romantic fiction together. Early lives Ilona Gordon was born in the Soviet Union and immigrated to the United States a ...

, joint pen name of American novelist duo Ilona and Andrew Gordon *

Ilona Csáková Ilona Csáková (born 1 October 1970, Cheb) is a Czech popular singer. She has released ten solo albums, and was the best-selling singer in the Czech Republic in 1998. She also appeared as a judge on reality TV music competition '' Česko hledá ...

(born 1970), Czech pop singer *

Ilona Eibenschütz Ilona Eibenschütz (24 March 1871 in Budapest, Hungary – 21 May 1967 in London, England) was a Hungarian pianist. She received her first instruction in music from her cousin Albert Eibenschütz. Franz Liszt is said to have played at a concer ...

(1872–1967), Hungarian pianist *

Ilona Elek Ilona Elek, known also as Ilona Elek-Schacherer (née “Elek"; May 17, 1907 – July 24, 1988) was a Hungarian Olympic fencer. Elek won more international fencing titles than any other woman.Ilona Fehér Ilona Feher or Ilona Fehér (; 1 December 1901, Budapest, Kingdom of Hungary, Hungary – January, 1988, Holon, Israel), was one of the representatives of the Hungarian school of violin playing, Hungarian Violin School whose greats are: Joseph B� ...

(1901–1988), Hungarian violinist and teacher * Ilona Gófitz, Hungarian conjoined twin * Ilona Graenitz (1943–2022), Austrian MP and MEP *

Ilona Gusenbauer Ilona Maria Gusenbauer (née Majdan on 16 September 1947) is a retired Austrian high jumper. She competed at the 1968 and 1972 Olympics and finished in eighth and third place, respectively. She held the Women's high jump world record progression ...

(born 1947), Austrian high jumper *

Ilona Hlaváčková Ilona Hlaváčková (born March 15, 1977Ilona Hlaváčková
bio (in Czech)) is a backstroke swi ...

(born 1977), Czech swimmer *

Ilona Jokinen Ilona Jokinen (born 1981) is a Finnish soprano opera singer whose repertoire ranges from baroque to contemporary music. Education Jokinen earned her bachelor's degree in singing pedagogy at the Helsinki Polytechnic. Ilona Jokinen studied ...

(born 1981), Finnish opera singer, *

Ilona Maher Ilona Maher (born August 12, 1996) is an American rugby union player. She debuted for the against Japan in 2018 in Paris, France. Rugby career Maher began playing rugby while attending Quinnipiac University; prior to college, she also played ...

(born 1996), American rugby player, 2020 Olympian with the USA Eagles Women's Rugby 7s squad, *

Ilona Massey Ilona Massey (born Ilona Hajmássy, June 16, 1910 – August 20, 1974) was a Hungarian-American film, stage and radio performer. Early life and career She was born in Budapest, Kingdom of Hungary (now in Hungary). Billed as "the new Die ...

(1910–1974), Hungarian actress *

Ilona Mitrecey Ilona Mitrecey (born 1 September 1993 in Fontenay-aux-Roses, Hauts-de-Seine) (more commonly known as Ilona) is a retired French singer. Biography Ilona always dreamed of becoming a stuntwoman or filmmaker. Her parents knew an Italian music pro ...

(born 1993), French singer *

Ilona Novák Ilona Novák (16 May 1925 – 14 March 2019) was a Hungarian swimmer and Olympic champion. She competed at the 1948 Olympic Games in London, where she finished 4th in 100 m backstroke and 5th in 4 × 100 m freestyle relay. At the 1952 Olympic ...

(born 1925), Hungarian swimmer *

Ilona Ostrowska Ilona Ostrowska (born May 25, 1974) is a Polish actress. In 1998 she graduated from the State Theatre School in Wrocław. She worked in Wrocław, Polish Theatre and the Theatre of K2. Since 2002 is an actress Contemporary Theatre in Warsaw. In 20 ...

, Polish actress *

Ilona Palásti Ilona Palásti (1924–1991) was a Hungarian mathematician who worked at the Alfréd Rényi Institute of Mathematics. She is known for her research in discrete geometry, geometric probability, and the theory of random graphs. With Alfréd Rényi a ...

(1924–1991), Hungarian mathematician *

Ilona Senderek Ilona Senderek-Wójcik ( ; born 15 December 1988) is a Polish former competitive figure skater. She is the 2004 Polish national champion and competed in the final segment at the 2005 World Junior Championships. Personal life Senderek-Wójcik wa ...

(born 1988), Polish figure skater *

Ilona Slupianek Ilona Longo (née Schoknecht, divorced Briesenick and Slupianek; born 24 September 1956) is a German former shot putter who represented East Germany. As Ilona Slupianek, she won the 1980 Olympic title in Moscow and won European titles in 1978 and ...

(born 1956), retired world champion shot putter who competed for East Germany *

Ilona Staller Ilona Staller (born 26 November 1951), widely known by her stage name Cicciolina ("little chubby one"), is a Hungarian-Italian former porn star, politician, and singer. Early life Ilona was born in Budapest, Hungary. Her father, László Stal ...

(born 1951), aka Cicciolina, Hungarian-born Italian porn-star, sometime politician, and singer *

Ilona Štěpánová-Kurzová Ilona Štěpánová-Kurzová (19 November 1899 in Lviv – 25 September 1975 in Prague) was a Czechoslovak concert pianist and piano teacher, a professor at the Prague Academy of Arts. Her students included Ivan Moravec. Ilona Štěpánová-Kurz ...

(1899–1975), Czech concert pianist and piano teacher *

Ilona Szabó de Carvalho Ilona Szabó de Carvalho (born May 31, 1978) is a Brazilian political scientist , and civic entrepreneur, co-founder and executive director of the Igarapé Institute. Since its founding in 2011, the Institute has developed pioneering research, ...

(born 1978), Brazilian political scientist *

Ilona Szilágyi ''Ilona'' is a Hungarian female given name, the traditional name of the Queen of the Fairies in Magyar folklore. Its etymology is uncertain. A common theory is that Ilona is cognate with the Greek given name ''Helen''. Diminutive forms include ...

(before 1455–1497), Hungarian princess consort of Wallachia as the second wife of Vlad III the Impaler *

Ilona Tőzsér Ilona Tőzsér is a Hungarian sprint canoer who competed in the mid-1970s. She won four medals at the ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships with a silver (K-2 500 m: 1973) and three bronzes (K-2 500 m: 1973, 1974; K-4 500 m: 1975 It ...

, Hungarian sprint canoer *

Ilona Verley Ilona Verley is a Canadian-American drag queen, most known for competing on the first season of ''Canada's Drag Race''. Early life Verley was raised in Surrey, British Columbia. They attended the Blanche MacDonald Centre in Vancouver for make-u ...

, Canadian drag queen *

Ilona Zrínyi Countess Ilona Zrínyi ( Croatian: ''Jelena Zrinska'', Hungarian: ''Zrínyi Ilona'') (1643, Ozalj – 18 February 1703, Izmit) was a noblewoman and heroine. She was one of the last surviving members of the Croatian-Hungarian Zrinski/Zrín ...

(1643–1703), Hungarian-Croatian countess

References

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